Re: small mics

[wmharps@xxxxxxxxx]

Bullfrog wrote:
> I recently read here, about the Univox mic and one that came from Radio Shack.
> I am using my Green Bullet, and love it, most of the time. However, it's
> difficult to hold with my chromatic. I use this for some of our numberrs.
> Just wondering how sthe Radio shack mic is workingout, as compared to the
> Univox. 

I have never used the Univox, so I really can't compare the two mics, but I 
have the Radio Shack tie clip mic and use it sometimes when I want an acoustic 
sound with hand effects.  This mic is designed to be clean sounding, so it 
isn't going to overdrive like a more traditional harp mic.  All the advantages 
of the small mic -- fits easily inside your palm, gets all the hand effects, 
very light, less prone to feedback.  

If you're looking for a small mic that has a more distorted sound there are a 
lot of old lavalier mics around that are small and easy to hold, but with 
crystal elements (the tie clip mic is a condensor, and requires a watch battery 
for power when in use).  I have a bunch of these, including a Shure Slim-X 
(model 777), a couple of Lafayettes, an old Sennheiser, and an Electro Voice 
924.  These are all nice choices, though they all vary slightly from each other 
in terms of how hot they are, what the tonal range is, etc.  

One of my favorite small mics is the modern Sennheiser E604, which is intended 
to be a drum mic, and is designed to take high sound pressures at close range.  
It provides a very nice response match for harmonica, and is extremely light 
and small.  It is a low-Z mic, though I have been quite happy running mine 
through a transformer into an amplifier.  I cut the stand mount swivel off of 
mine to make it even easier to cup.  

It all depends on what you're after!

- -tim